England Croke

England received a warm welcome from the Irish fans at Croke Park, who revelled in a record 43-13 defeat for Brian Ashton's team

LATE LAST evening, all that was left of rugby's first season at Croke Park were workers carrying bags of litter from the periphery of the pitch. By then, most of the debris had been cleared and England's battered team had been mercifully taken away. At 43-13, a record defeat in the championship for the visitors, it was as much a massacre as a match. Just the way the Irish wanted it.

It was the most absorbing occasion and a quite brilliant Irish performance. The home fans and their team arrived at the Gaelic Athletic Association's (GAA) fine stadium to deal with one of the older enemies and to help bury the ghosts of history. They nailed the ghosts and buried the men in white jerseys. All week, the talk in Ireland was of moving on to a new, better future. This morning the future will seem like the promised land.